Kangaroo Flat drug driver fined with license suspended

A pregnant woman charged with driving under the influence of drugs says she is battling an ice addiction.

Elizabeth Rosewall, 22, of Kangaroo Flat, faced the Bendigo Magistrates Court on charges of driving under the influence of methamphetamine.

Rosewall was not pregnant at the time she returned the positive drug test but the court heard that since the offence in August 2012 she had become pregnant and was still struggling to overcome her addiction to ice.

Pleading guilty to charges of driving under the influence of drugs, Rosewall was given fines totalling $1700 and her licence was suspended for six months.

Magistrate William Gibb ordered that she seek drug rehabilitation and said it was a matter of urgency for herself and the unborn baby that she beat her addiction.

“You need to get your act together,” Mr Gibb said to Rosewall.

“You seem to think it’s all right to take drugs and drive – it’s not.

Being pregnant, you now have sufficient motivation to do something about your drug problems... I hope you succeed in ridding yourself of this addiction.”

Mr Gibb raised the issue of media coverage surrounding TV presenter Chrissie Swan smoking cigarettes while she was pregnant, and said an instance of a pregnant mother taking ice was far more damning.

“I can only imagine how those same people would see a woman who uses illicit drugs,” he said.

Defence lawyer Luke Docherty said his client had moved in with her parents this year, which had helped give her greater stability.

He said she had been battling with ice in recent times but was working to overcome the addiction.